2 comments about Mathematica 4.0 Standard Add-On Packages: The Official Guide to over a Thousand Additional Functions for Use With Mathematica 4.

1. Certainly, this book talks about the most powerful feature of Mathematica. It talks about the part of the sotware, that makes it the best mathematics programm that has ever been made until our days. Without the contents of this book (Mathematica Packages) Mathematica becomes a common software like many others that exist today. It will surely help any person to use all the facilities of Mathematica. If you have ever wanted Mathematica to do something for you and people said that it was not possible, you should take a look in this book.



2. Like main book "The Mathematica book", this is also paper version of help which is included in the program. But, many people like take a book rather then reading from monitor. The main "The Mathematica book" together with this one, is a complete set for using the program.

   I can say that this book is useful. It briefly describes all add-on packages of the program, following by several easy-to-understand examples.

   Add-on packages much improve an already powerful program, so using them increase efficiency of every serious task. This book helps one to do this!

No comments about Automating SOLIDWORKS 2006 using MACROS.

5 comments about Foundation ActionScript for Macromedia Flash MX 2004.

1. Overall I found this book helpful in taking me to the next level of ActionScript. The main project of the book from beginning to end is the building of a website called Futuremedia. This web page makes use of many cool tricks the author takes you through step-by-step with pretty good explanations. To teach the reader how to implement these techniques, several smaller coding projects are used to introduce programming concepts that will be later used in the more complex Futuremedia project. Each chapter has several of these smaller examples which is very fortunate. About halfway through the book, due probably to some sloppy editing, the Futuremedia project gets derailed by missing steps and references to earlier explanations which never made it into the text. Being that I didn't find the Futuremedia project all that interesting, I eventually abandoned working on the book's main project and concentrated on the smaller projects contained in each chapter. These are all complete.
   The author's writing style is easy to follow and he tries to explain concepts so non-programmers can grasp them, which is the main reason I stuck with it to the last chapter.
   If you are looking to move from the simple coding of buttons, movie clips and basic timeline animation, this book still has some good information to offer.



2. This book was done well for *not* programmers. I'm a relatively seasoned (6+ yrs) Java & C programmer--I found it incredibly slow.
   Bhangal spends a ton of time convincing the reader that things such as "event handling" and "classes" are good. Anyone who has written a GUI for the Mac, Windows, X or Java will find a majority of the content incredibly tedious.
   The last chapter on "Advanced Actionscript" starts to touch on the areas I find most valuable--specifically scope, sub-classing, the differences between AS 1.0 & 2.0. But that was really it.
   Again, for non-programmers or designers (for whom I'm assuming this was designed) I think this might be a great book. Bhangal goes to great lengths to explain the "why's" of programming concepts. For programmers, I'd suggest Macromedia Press's "Flash MX Professionsl 2004 Application Development" by Jeanette Stallons.



3. Mr. Bhangal's wonderful teaching style and excellent writing make this a truly easy and painless experience.
   
   Explained in plain english how to actually *do something* with action script.
   
   Great examples and analogies really drive the concepts home. I think its a big help that Mr. Bhangal is a designer and can speak to a person on a visual level.
   
   And, I had a question, e-mailed Mr. Bhangal, and he got right back to me.
   
   I am currently reading Foundation Dreamweaver MX 2004 and am also very impressed. The Friends of Ed is a great tool for designers looking to learn multimedia and web software.



4. I am sorry , reading the reviews I thought this would be great , so I bought it.I must say editing is horrible , no online help(wrote 5 mails not even 1 answer),lot of mistake in book.The code style changes often so the beginner is bit lost.Then Bhangal suddenly introduces heavy coding without explaining much often (Math.random()*5) +3 or Math.round()...he didn't explain the parameters of random no. selection in AS.
   only thing I can say you need to do this book more than once to get hang of AS if u r really a total beginner like me.
   If looking a fast way don't get into it if u r a total beginner



5. If you want painless method for learning OOP AS this is the book for you. The only omission I have found is that the author does not delve deeper into the logic of programming in the OOP, especially where it is very necessary in order to understand a topic or a solution.

5 comments about Real-Time Strategy Game Programming Using MS Directx 6.0 (Wordware Game Developer's Library).

1. The book does what it says it does.
   The text alone is worth 5 stars.It's not a beginners book but it doesn't say it is either.

   If you are an intermediate/expert programmer you should have no problem with the source code.




2. ...because the noise from the guy patting himself on the back kept distracting me.

   When I read a technical book, I don't like to spend 50 pages reading the author's opinions on things. I don't like to read every other sentence starting with "this wasn't quite what I wanted, so ME AND JIMBOB wrote it this way...".

   Though there is some useful information in there, you have to wade through way too much of the author telling how he is great, MS isn't, and how you should write code exactly like he does (keep in mind that I'm not a huge MS fan, but the writer doesn't need to express his opinions on the matter every 3 pages).

   When I read a game programming book, I want information that I can build off of. This book is so convoluted, the information that you can build off of you could have pretty much figured out on your own given short enough time. With the exception of a few "hmmm"-inducing topics, this book is one for the circular file.




3. This book covers a few more rogue aspects of RTS programming. It describes several different key areas in nice detail. However, the book failed to wrap these ideals up into a complete package.
   Reading this book was like following a bread crumb trail for miles and miles. Licking your lips at what surprise may be in store for you at the end of the trail the whole way there. Finally crossing over the last peak you find out that the bread was all used up making the trail.
   The CD includes very little that a trained group of decrypters wouldn't have to work weeks on. The code was almost totally UN-commented, besides the copyright, and very buggy.
   The writer many times throughout the book showed examples of how to emplement certain ideas in code then offered small suttle hints on how to improve the idea leaving you with a less than perfect code example. Come On!
   Final thought! I wouldn't buy this book at its cover price. Wait for it on sale or in the bargain bin at the book fair.



4. The book is fairly out of date at the time I'm writing this, but I had hoped when I picked it up that it would have some valuable tips for writing games that are relatively timeless. The DirectX API has certainly changed a great deal from 6.0 to 9.0, but good game architecture doesn't change much.

   The book was disappointing. At times it reads like a collection of disjointed articles written by an amateur programmer, and at other times it demonstrates a clear "been there, done that" presence.

   Many aspects of the book are, simply, annoying. After briefly mentioning the Age of Empires scenario editor, the author writes in a separate note offset from the main text: "I worked on the scenario editor and it is largely the same as I programmed it to be, at least functionally." This self-important commentary does nothing to promote anyone's understanding of game development.

   The author's programming skills are poor. Other reviewers have said this; no need to beat it into the ground. I get the sense the author was working on tools for the games he worked on, not the games themselves. This comes out in the text: good explanations of the game development process and tools used by animators and developers, but shaky descriptions of game architecture.

   The choice of topics is a mix of good and bad. The early chapters on planning are very good, but then we get into a very long chapter on painfully optimizing line drawing, complete with a bad clipping algorithm ("Actually I wrote it myself without any help.") The chapter ends with, "but also realize that there isn't much line drawing in games these days", calling into question the purpose of spending so much time on it.

   It does have a long chapter on pathfinding, which was nice to see.




5. I can't believe how bad this book was. It gives simple concepts and then beats them to death with pages and pages of code. The author only touches on the truly difficult problems and refers the reader to web sites for the real material. He fills the pages with endless prose containing little substance.

   I bought this used for $5 and I paid too much.

3 comments about ColdFusion Web Development with Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004 (Books for Professionals by Professionals).

1. This book starts out slowly if you already know ColdFusion, but then it jumps quickly into dynamic Web development using ColdFusion MX 6.1 in conjunction with Dreamweaver MX 2004. Most other Dreamweaver books usually try to do too much by also covering ASP, PHP, or JSP. Such books have failed where this one succeeds in giving the reader a comprehensive and well illustrated guide to one technology, rather than gloss over several at the same time. In addition to the bread and butter things you can or should do in ColdFusion for a Web site, the book devotes two whole chapters XML and Web Services, and the last chapter gives a case study of a complete ColdFusion-based Web site. Yet, despite having six authors, it comes in below 500 pages and does not look at all like those bloated volumes which try to explain everything under the information technology sun. If you are looking for a reference book covering all the details on ColdFusion or Dreamweaver, look elsewhere. If you want a book you can read and use in your day to day work, this is definitely it.



2. The title of this book is a straight-forward description of the contents - a book designed to meet the needs of new ColdFusion developers who are learning CFMX 6.1 by using Dreamweaver MX (DMX) 2004.
   
   Compared to the CFMX "bible" - Web Application Construction Kit, this book is lean, comfortable, and informal. The basics of working with databases, writing in ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML), using conditional logic, and form processing are covered in the first half of the book. The topics are covered briefly with simple examples. If you don't grasp the concepts and usages presented, you may need a second reference for more detailed information.
   
   You'll definitely need a database-specific reference if you're not familiar with Structure Query Language (SQL) or your datasource is something other than MS Access. The authors' hints about writing queries and CFML code suggest best practices for making easy to read, reusable code. Queries are designed using the built-in DMX 2004 panels and tools. This gives a developer coming from the webmaster side of the internet assistance in composing SQL with filters and sorts, then allows you to view the generated SQL.
   
   The authors list the most useful tags to know with simple, clear explanations of what they do. Practical examples are used to display both code and the resulting browser output. Be warned though, there are typos and odd phrasing in some spots.
   
   More advanced chapters cover topics like maintaining state by storing information in persistent variables, exception handling for error management, and code reuse through User-Defined Functions (UDF), custom tags and CF components (CFC's). Topics are limited to a few pages each, so there is not a lot of in-depth coverage. A full chapter is devoted to working with XML and another to Flash MX 2004 and web services.
   
   A nice feature of the book is the last chapter which pulls it all together into a web site featuring an image gallery, login administration and content management. Overall, it's a good book for a fast learner, although you may need more in-depth coverage as you grow in your development.



3. This is a step by step guide if you want to get started with Coldfusion. I didnt have any experience in Coldfusion and this book gave me confidence that I would be able to learn it quickly. I have brought it for a month now and it looks good. I also brought ColdFusion 7 book by Ben Forta as another reference. I will start with Apress book first and then the Forta as I believe it will cover more topics and would be helpful if I knew the basics first. Good book, handy for starters in Coldfusion using Dreamweaver as their dev tool. Amazon service was good. Reached me in time. Would buy again from here for sure.

No comments about New Key Geography for GCSE.

No comments about Making Them Move: Mechanics, Control & Animation of Articulated Figures (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics).

2 comments about The Flash Usability Guide: Interacting with Flash MX.

1. Anyone serious about web design/development (whether you use flash or not) should read this book. It is well written and practical. Showing you how to make your web site from the users side of view instead of the designers side of view, taking into account how to make it accessible for everyone, all the little things most web developers and designers miss along the way. Giving you real life siduations on what can happen during the stages of development and wrenches thrown in during the web development process (as any web developer or designer knows all to well from clients) and how to cope with them. It shows you fantastic strategies how to cope with user importance and usuabilty during every phaze of development (even ones you would never think was important) It also shows you when it's good to use flash and when not to. This is one of the best books I've seen written yet on the usuabilty of flash. An extreme must for all web designers and developers (even for those wanting to learn it just for themselves) If more would read books like this, the internet would be alot easier place to surf. I highly recommend it.



2. When I first picked up this book I had incorrectly assumed it focused on the new accessibility features in MX. This is merely a small part of what the book offers, however. Instead, it gets into the nitty gritty of what developers and designers need to consider as they build their sites in order to produce work that users can ..well, USE. I found this book addressed and offered solutions to many common problems, as well as some more interesting and subtle issues that arise during site production. My only gripe was that at times I felt that, due to the multiple-author nature of the book, certain material was retread chapter to chapter. Although each chapter offered something new, it also presented material previously addressed. Still, a very helpful book of practical theories and implementations amidst so many tutorial-based books on how to achieve cool effects.

5 comments about LabVIEW Graphical Programming: Practical Applications in Instrumentation and Control (McGraw-Hill Visual Technology).

1. For those of you who do not have this book, this book is one of the top Labview books available. It goes very quickly through the basics, and focuses more on building actual applications in Labview. Many pointers on how to maximize resources are through out this book. It saved me many hours of trial and error. The book reads as if an articulate person is speaking to you. Very no nonsense.

   For example, there's a comprehensive chapter on actually developing a Labview VI for use. It goes through the requirements, the development (internally and also the user interface) and the release of the VI. Further, it has a nice section on DAQ.

   This book is more or less a rehash of the old book, with some upgrades, but for those who don't have the old one, read it's reviews. I wasn't terribly disappointed with the omission of Labview 6i stuff, since the content extended beyond it. You'll be making a good investment in this book.




2. I've purchased all three editons of Gary Johnson's LabVIEW book and haven't been disappointed yet. This is one of those rare books that lives up to its hype. The writing is clear and engaging, without condescending to the more advanced user. If you're using or learning LabVIEW, check this book out.



3. I didn't find this book helpful at all. It is neither for beginners nor for advanced Labview programmers. If you are somewhere in middle and want to enjoy reading a book about labview like reading a fiction, this may be the right book for you.

   If you are really looking for a book which you really need to learn something about Labview, this book is not that one. Continue your search!




4. This book has little to offer for those that need to do programs in Labview. The first four chapters are useless. If you want a good book get "Labview for Everyone" it will help you to understand Labview.



5. This book is good for Labview intermediate programmers. It sort of seems hard for a beginner. It does not go into great depths and tricks of programming in labview. if you are in the learning curve this books adds more to that. It is very limited in certain aspects, like real time programming, and does not explain much about DAQ mx. This book is great for people as reference but I guess there lots more to be added.
   It did help me intially as I got into more programming, it would not help me.

1 comments about Mali in Pictures (Visual Geography. Second Series).

1. With a title of "Mali in Pictures" I thought this book would be full of photos. No so. What pictures it has are nice but small in size. It has information similar to any travel book so had rather have the Bradt Mali travel guide than this. Needs new title so as not to mislead. Over priced for what you get compared to what is expected.